CLAUDE.md · price reverts to £5
| Feature | Claude Code | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Terminal / CLI | GUI IDE (VS Code fork) |
| Inline autocomplete | ~ Via IDE extensions | ✓ Native, real-time |
| Agentic task execution | ✓ Full autonomous | ~ Agent mode (beta) |
| Runs shell commands | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Multi-file editing | ✓ Excellent | ✓ Good |
| Context window | 200K tokens | ~64K–128K tokens |
| AI model choice | Claude only | Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini |
| Codebase indexing | ✓ Full context | ✓ Smart indexing |
| Composer (multi-file edit) | ~ Native via tasks | ✓ Cursor Composer |
| Web search | ✗ | ✓ @web grounding |
| IDE settings sync | N/A (terminal) | ✓ VS Code compatible |
| Deployment / infra tasks | ✓ Full terminal access | ✗ |
| Price (individual) | $20/mo (Claude.ai Pro) | $20/mo (Cursor Pro) |
| Price (API mode) | Pay-per-token | Business plan |
| Free tier | ✗ | ✓ Limited (2 weeks trial) |
| Privacy / code training | ✓ Not trained | ✓ Privacy mode available |
Claude Code is the better choice for developers who want an autonomous agent that can independently complete tasks — write a feature, run tests, fix failures, and commit the result. It's particularly powerful for terminal-first engineers or CI/CD tasks. Cursor wins for developers who spend most of their time in an IDE and want real-time autocomplete, a GUI for multi-file edits, and the flexibility to switch models. At the same $20/month price point, the choice comes down entirely to workflow preference. Many teams use Cursor for day-to-day coding and Claude Code for larger automated tasks.
Is Claude Code better than Cursor?
For agentic, autonomous tasks that go beyond editing code (running commands, deploying, testing end-to-end), Claude Code is stronger. Cursor is better for interactive coding with real-time autocomplete. Both use Claude models — the difference is the interface and task scope.
Does Cursor use Claude AI?
Yes. Cursor supports Claude Sonnet and Opus as model options alongside GPT-4o and Gemini. You can select the model in Cursor's settings. Claude Code is Anthropic's own product and uses Claude exclusively.
Is Claude Code free?
Claude Code is included in Claude.ai Pro ($20/month) and Max ($100/month). It can also run on API billing (pay-per-token). There's no standalone free tier, though Claude.ai has a free consumer plan with limited Claude access.
Can Claude Code edit multiple files like Cursor Composer?
Yes — Claude Code can read and edit multiple files simultaneously and execute the changes autonomously. It does this via a terminal interface rather than a GUI. For tasks like "refactor all usages of X across the repo," Claude Code is arguably more powerful because it can also run tests and validate the changes.